Random thoughts from the sea
Days 128-132, 2026 Grand World Voyage Monday to Friday, May 11-15, 2026; Panama Canal and Cartagena, Colombia. Just as we seem to be racing across the Caribbean at 18 knots toward Fort Lauderdale, the time is racing by as we come to the end of this 133-day cruise (plus the
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Day 8, 2025 Grand World Voyage Saturday, Jan. 11, 2025; Manta, Ecuador. Given the choice between standing in a line and relaxing with a beer on the beach, it’s obvious which I will take. One of my favorite cruise memories was drinking pisco sours on an Easter Island terrace while
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Day 22, 2024 Grand World Voyage Wednesday, Jan. 24, 2024; Panama Canal If this cruise gets any more “grand,” it may be the death of me. If it’s not a port day with lots to see and do, it’s a party or special event aboard the Zuiderdam. There’s hardly any
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Day 10, 2023 Holiday Panama Canal Sunfarer Sunday, Dec. 31, 2023; Caribbean Sea I greeted the last day of 2023 with an hour of precious solitude, sitting alone in the Lido Restaurant on a ship with 2,000 passengers. I accomplished this feat by getting up at 5:15 a.m. and watching
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Days 6-7, 2023 Grand South America and Antarctica Thursday and Friday, Oct.12-13, 2023, Panama Canal Transit and Sea Day Holland American ships have been transiting the Panama Canal since 1916, with its first passenger ship crossing a few years later. My first transit was nine months ago. What took me
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Day 6, Grand World Voyage Sunday, Jan. 8, 2023; Panama Canal. For all my cruising, I’ve never sailed through the Panama Canal. So today’s transit is one of the highlights of this voyage. After passing the pre-dawn lights of Colón, we started into the first of three chambers of the
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